Building a new BBS, wondering about art etiquette reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatstevelord · 2018-06-21 09:23 Hi all, I'm building a BBS for a community of about 500 people, of which I expect somewhere around 10% to be active. I'm using enigma for the BBS, but I need to replace the ANSI graphics in the theme. I was wondering what the appropriate etiquette was for using other people's ANSI productions. Is it wholly inappropriate to use parts of other prods as a basis for your own, or is it acceptable with credit to the original source? Does anyone still care? I'd really like to lean on some of the art I've seen, but I don't want to upset people and I don't know how to contact a lot of the artists. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- UnaClocker · 2018-06-21 13:05 Back in the 90’s it was pretty common to snag ansi out of art packs. It’s how I got most of mine, for sure. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- phatdragonv111 · 2018-06-21 14:30 I second this. That's how most boards I saw got their ANSIs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- nolageek · 2018-06-21 15:44 People care less these days, but it's probably still iffy. While I've used parts of menus out of packs as a starting point for menus, I try to only use ones from boards that aren't around anymore, and ones from older packs. I wouldn't want to use menus from highly recognizable boards like Black Flag, etc.. I also leave any signatures on the piece and have a page giving credit to artists whose work I've used or from whom gotten pieces. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- G_Porgie · 2018-06-21 15:50 In reality, most ANSI art you'll find will be by guys that left the scene 20+ years ago and probably wouldn't have a problem with you using their art. I would say go ahead and use it and give credit where due. If an artist does come along and objects, respect their request and take it down. Likewise, if you do come across art by someone who is still able to be contacted, then reaching out and asking permission before using their work is the appropriate thing to do. All comes down to respecting the artist's work, just like any other art form. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2018-06-21 16:22 [deleted] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatstevelord · 2018-06-21 17:50 Yeah it feels a lot like ripping mods for your own prods from back in the day, which is why I don't feel so good about it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatstevelord · 2018-06-21 17:51 I think that's fair. I'll give credit and put something together on the BBS giving artists a way to contact if they want their art taking down. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatstevelord · 2018-06-21 17:52 That sounds reasonable. I think that's the route I'll take. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Android8675 · 2018-06-21 18:22 I'd say if you're making a profit on the BBS you should get permission for and register everything. If it's just a hobby board I wouldn't sweat it too hard. I got some ANSi from a couple artists on [AgoraNet](http://pharcyde.org) (A Fidonet type network, has a nice Ansi Artist following), a couple of them said they were doing some freebie commissions. I gave them the overall theme, got the art, changed a couple typos, made sure the artist mark was clearly visible and that was that. I'd also recommend [Pablodraw](http://picoe.ca/products/pablodraw/) which is a great ANSI drawing program. A little practice and you might surprise yourself ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thatstevelord · 2018-06-21 18:57 Yeah the BBS isn't going to make any money, but we run events that charge for entry, so it's a grey area as far as I'm concerned. The BBS is technically connected to the event but I'm doing it all in my spare time for funzies. I'll have a look on AgoraNet and see if anyone's interested. I've been fiddling with Pablodraw, it's more that I'm just not used to it, and am not really a graphical artist. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NuSkooler · 2018-06-22 04:07 Tailor the art to your specific board as much as possible. It's just like a website - no one wants to drudge through the same ol'. Check out https://undercurrents.io/ for a amazing setup (under enig). Also, Luciano this store which includes freebies: http://www.ansigarden.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- danvanmoll · 2018-06-22 05:56 You could contact a group like ACiD on their own BBS (blackflag.acid.org:23) and request your very own logo. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro_1337 · 2018-06-28 05:22 i was told many times by today's ansi artists what a crime it was to take art from old artpacks. i was repeatedly insulted for it. i would leave their sigs in there and i would only borrow parts of the ansi screens for my menus. it seemed like there was a big division between ansi artists and bbses. sort of like the p2p of today where 'the scene' hates the people downloading their stuff on torrent sites. i had one of those guys draw something for me once but it looked like shit (clown puke colors and it was too long in lines) and i fixed it up and he got deeply offended.